Basic notions of a system, subsystem, complex, series, cycle, group of exercises

Any system is understood as something whole, integer, which, in its turn, is the unity of orderly distributed and interconnected parts.

Thus, N.I. Gezrepresents the system of exercises as an organisation of interconnected operations, distributed in the order of gradual increase in language and operational difficulties with an account of speech habits and skills formation and development with due regard to the character of real-life speech acts.

Methodology usually distinguishes between two types of system of exercises: a general system of exercises and a special, or particular, system of exercises.

The general system of exercises (S) is aimed at language acquisition taken as a whole. S.F. Shatilovdefines the general system of exercises as a joint necessity of such types, kinds and varieties of exercises, which are performed in a definite quantity and sequence and take into account natural development of skills and habits in different types of language activity. Language activity is the realisation of personal communicative skills for communicative intercourse in a given communicative situation. Skill is an individual capacity to communicate in given situational settings. According to Shatilov, the general system of exercises provides for a maximum top level of mastering a foreign language under the set circumstances.

The special system (Ss)is aimed at acquisition of some particular type of language activity. Thus, we may speak of four special systems of exercises: the system of exercises for listening, the system of exercises for speaking, the system of exercises for reading and the system of exercises for writing. Sometimes special systems are called sub-systems of exercises.

In their turn, each of the four sub-systems may include several complexes (C) of exercises for teaching specific skills, e.g. a dialogical skill, i.e. dialogical speech, or a complex of exercisesfor teaching a monological skill.

Each complex comprises three series of exercises for teaching speech and technical habits. In case of teaching speaking, they are:

1) exercises aimed at teaching pronunciation habits;

2) exercises aimed at teaching lexical habits;

3) exercises aimed at teaching grammatical habits of speaking.

All three series are closely interrelated and interconnected.

Each series consists of a number of cycles for teaching definite habits, e.g. a cycle of exercisesaimed at teaching articulation habits and intonation habits of speaking; a cycle of exercises aimed at teaching the syntactical side of speaking; a cycle of exercises aimed at teaching morphological habits of oral speech.

A cycle may fall into smaller groups of exercises aimed at teaching definite language items. A group of exercisesallows performing operations with one language item in interconnected sequence. Each exercise included into the group aims at the lexical, grammatical, pronunciation or intonation side of one language item. The concern of an exercise is to perform primary operations with the four sides of the language item. It is to make up operational orientation basisfor the formation of a speech habit later on.

A similar structure of the system of exercises may be found in teaching other types of language activity or communicative skills. Graphically the structure of the system of exercises may be represented as follows:

4 skills

1 or 2 skills

1 specific skill

Speech

habit

Special side of

speech habit

1 definite language item

- operations grouped as

interconnected sequence

1 side of a language item

- primary operations

Thus, a general system of exercises is structurally organised into subsystems comprising complexes, which in their turn include series. A series consists of several cycles including groups of exercises.

6.4.2. Characteristics of the system of exercises

Any proper system of exercises is characterised by a number of features: scientific character, interdependence, consistency and simplicity, recurrence of speech operations and language material, communicative character.

· Scientific character of the system presupposes its being subject to a certain methodological concept.

· The characteristic of interdependence means that every preceding exercise prepares the ground for successful fulfilment of the following exercise. The latter comprises language or speech material, which has already been trained and mastered in preceding exercises. All exercises of the system should follow one another in a logical sequence.

· The characteristic of consistency and simplicity means that the course of learning should proceed from the particular to the general. First learners deal with exercises aimed at forming separate habits, then several groups of habits, and at last they deal with exercises aimed at forming a particular skill. If it is an imitative system, then the transposition goes from imitation through reproduction to production, from habits to skills. Besides, each exercise of a system should be intelligible for the learners. This requirement is sometimes very hard to be observed. If the challenge is too low for the learners, they are not interested in performing the activity, becoming easily bored and not eager to do a monotonous job. On the other hand, if the challenge is too high, the learners simply ‘switch off’, because they are not able to fulfil the task. The main rule here is one difficulty at a time.

· Reoccurrence of speech operations and language material means that what is present in a particular speech habit must be repeated in skills realising speech activity.

· Communicative character of the system of exercises. In foreign language, teaching exercises serve consolidating speech habits and skills. The system of exercises forms the sum total of speech habits and skills for one or several kinds of language activity.

It should be noted that if a single feature of the five mentioned above is lacking then it is not a system yet, but a complex or a series of exercises.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-23